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Wu admin. to send nearly 100 recent police academy grads to Mass. and Cass
To crack down on outdoor substance use and crime, Boston officials are beefing up the police presence at Mass. and Cass and taking other steps.
The Wu administration is set to increase the police presence around Mass. and Cass, bolstered by close to 100 officers who recently graduated from the Boston Police Academy.
Previously:
The additional police staffing was detailed in a memo filed with the City Council Wednesday by Boston’s Coordinated Response Team. The document included a number of other updates on the city’s strategy to increase public safety and combat outdoor “congregate substance use.”
“Open substance use in any part of Boston is illegal and unacceptable,” the memo reads. “As we have built up a coordinated citywide response to shut down encampments, decrease overdose mortality, and continue to strengthen the continuum of care, our focus is now on ending outdoor substance use in Boston and the criminal activity that supports it.”
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The move comes after months of complaints from residents both near Mass. and Cass and in other parts of the city. The intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue has long been the epicenter of Boston’s addiction and homelessness crises. But this year, critics of Mayor Michelle Wu have said that her efforts to clear tents and improve the situation at Mass. and Cass have inadvertently caused public health and safety to deteriorate in other neighborhoods.
The memo was also delivered to councilors on the eve of a much-anticipated hearing where members of the public will be able to weigh in and hear from administration officials. The hearing was scheduled after Councilor Ed Flynn filed a resolution seeking to declare a public health emergency about the issue.
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In a recent social media post commenting on the administration’s decision to increase police staffing, Flynn called for a “zero tolerance” policy for “for any criminal activity” in Boston.
Administration officials announced increased police deployments and an expanded street outreach program in February, and this week’s memo is meant to be an update on the plan outlined then. The BPD’s more active presence in areas including the South End and Roxbury have led to 467 drug-related arrests so far this year, according to the memo. This represents an 85% increase from last year.
The new police officers, who graduated on Aug. 22, will provide “a much-needed boost to the staffing capacity for deployments to priority areas of the South End, Newmarket, and Nubian Square,” officials wrote in the memo.
The document contains many other updates. The Boston Public Health Commission is expanding a program that connects people with recovery options, embedding staffers from that program with street outreach workers to speed up treatment access. The city is working to reunite people living at Mass. and Cass with their families and support networks, and providing train and bus tickets so that they can return to their communities.
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Responding to complaints about discarded needles, officials are decreasing needle distribution and widening efforts to pick up needles. The team responsible for needle pickup is now working from 5 a.m. to midnight. They previously operated from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The BPHC wants to “decentralize” treatment and recovery services away from Mass. and Cass, adding staff members to community health centers around the city and setting up more “public health vending machines.”
This month, administration officials are launching a new case management meeting that will convene weekly. Healthcare providers, addiction specialists, housing experts, and state officials will collaborate with the city to work through lists of specific individuals and find treatment options for them.
This year the Coordinated Response Team has added staffing and partnered with the Suffolk District Attorney’s office to divert people away from the criminal justice system and towards recovery options.
“Portable cameras for real-time monitoring” are being added to hotspots where 311 and 911 calls are more common.
The city is instructing third-party organizations to end “tent and meal distribution outdoors” and instead direct people to “authorized indoor programs.”
Read the full memo below:
Mass. and Cass Memo to City Council, Sept. 3, 2025 by Ross Cristantiello
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